“We’re significantly enthusiastic about, not simply the chance right here in Abu Dhabi, however the Gulf area typically,” Silver advised reporters within the capital forward of Friday’s tip-off. “We’ve got an extended historical past on this market, video games have been televised for roughly 35 years.
“The sport might be 100-years outdated right here within the Center East… Right now, we’re the second-most-popular sport after soccer and the fastest-growing sport on this planet, when it comes to basketball.
“One of many issues specifically we’re enthusiastic about is the dramatic enhance we’re seeing in women and younger girls enjoying. I used to be on the Abu Dhabi Campus of NYU [New York University], the place now we have a program referred to as ‘Her Time To Play’.
“We had roughly 130 women, 11-14 years outdated… There have been two elements to this system; there was about an hour spent in dialog with these gamers in regards to the values of the sport, life abilities, significance of arduous work and respect for the sport, dedication to your craft after which an hour on the court docket, when it comes to basketball expertise.
“We’ve had a possibility during the last week right here with our on-the-ground basketball by means of Jr. NBA and Jr. WNBA applications to attach with greater than 7,000 youngsters. That features 450 coaches, some primarily based right here, some who travelled right here for the basketball portion of this expertise.
“From our standpoint, it’s been very profitable thus far.”
Bonds between the NBA and Center East have gone from power to power. Along with NBA Abu Dhabi Video games, Jr. NBA/WNBA and NBA Basketball Faculty applications have been established, whereas UAE airline Emirates have been named World Airline Companion of the NBA and Title Companion of Emirates NBA Cup.
NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum was satisfied that is simply the beginning.
He mentioned: “I believe the variety of partnerships that you simply’re going to see right here within the area will develop. Emirates is a associate of ours with the brand new NBA Cup, they’ve been terrific companions within the area.
“We’ve got a partnership with the Qatar Basis to do grassroots applications, Jr. NBA applications in Qatar for girls and boys, too. BeIN has been a long-standing media associate of ours all through your entire Center East and North Africa.
“I believe the partnerships that we develop right here, Aldar, ADQ are additionally investing in basketball. I believe that may proceed to develop over the subsequent 5 years as properly.”
Progress in enjoying and coaching alternatives was additionally a key theme for Commissioner Silver. He hoped to reap the benefits of Abu Dhabi’s standing as “a sports activities and leisure hub for the entire area”, probably bringing an elite academy to the UAE.
He mentioned: “We’re centered on some elite coaching right here. Abu Dhabi has turn into a sports activities and leisure hub for the entire area, we see a possibility probably with an elite academy right here to usher in younger folks from the area… and take a few of the greatest youth gamers and produce them right here to coach collectively, to develop to play on the highest ranges for his or her nationwide groups and probably in skilled competitors.”
It’s not simply the enormous footprint of NBA’s superstars that has been felt in Abu Dhabi. Participation in Jr. NBA/WNBA leagues has grown exponentially throughout the UAE, with Tatum taking explicit delight of their growth.
He mentioned: “I believe the principle studying is that in the event you make investments locally, spend money on giving youngsters the chance to play the sport of basketball, you will note an incredible impression.
“That’s a part of the partnership. Once we first sat down with Abu Dhabi, it wasn’t simply in regards to the video games, it was in regards to the actions we’d create across the video games.
“They understood that it was factor to get extra youngsters lively, enjoying the sport of basketball. That’s the reason we began off in that first yr creating Jr. NBA applications for girls and boys.
“Participation is up 60 per cent within the UAE, 120 Jr. NBA leagues this yr up from 90 final yr. These are the issues for governments world wide, Abu Dhabi is saying ‘that’s factor for us’.”